Donald Trump, U.S. President, signed an Executive Order to deepen the United States’ cybersecurity workforce. Fortune newsletter summarizes it thus:
The order laid a number of sorely needed federal initiatives. Among them: standardizing job listings to help cybersecurity workers more easily move around government, creating a rotational employment program between the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, establishing awards for elementary and secondary school educators who foster cybersecurity talent, and incentivizing people to learn and master hacking skills through new “awards and decorations.”
Perhaps the most interesting part of the document called for a “president’s cup cybersecurity competition.” The goal, the directive states, “shall be to identify, challenge, and reward the United States Government’s best cybersecurity practitioners and teams across offensive and defensive cybersecurity disciplines.” The order mandates that such a contest, intended for both military and civilians, will take place before the end of the year. Winners are set to earn a minimum cash prize of $25,000.
Specifically, the section on using competition to stimulate young people is brilliant as captured in the Executive Order: “develop a plan for an annual cybersecurity competition (President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition) for Federal civilian and military employees”. Nigeria needs to pick some insights from this policy and create something in that line.
(e) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Director of OMB, and the heads of other appropriate agencies, shall develop a plan for an annual cybersecurity competition (President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition) for Federal civilian and military employees. The goal of the competition shall be to identify, challenge, and reward the United States Government’s best cybersecurity practitioners and teams across offensive and defensive cybersecurity disciplines. The plan shall be submitted to the President within 90 days of the date of this order. The first competition shall be held no later than December 31, 2019, and annually thereafter.
I have articulated some policies Nigeria can take to build a strong cybersecurity capability.
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In this piece, I had written a whitepaper for Nigeria’s “National Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare Command, NGCYBERCOM”. Yes, you imagine a future and you just write even when no one is paying attention. Provided it is written you have your peace back. Here is the video but the whitepaper is a tome of academic scholarship.
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